CNY Baking

I've never been a big fan of CNY and I dislike it even more now that everything has gotten so pricey and surviving on a single paycheck is a constant struggle for us. 

So I decided to bake pineapple tarts to be given away so we can save on gifts to the older generation. 

After twitching and experimenting with the recipe several times, I finally arrived at one which is relatively good. But pineapple tarts are extremely "sensitive". Overbake them a little and they become too dry. Underbake them and you don't achieve aesthetic success. So you really have got to watch the oven. 

Ingredients:

- 600g pineapple (rolled into 5g each)

- 430g cake flour

- 280g butter (cut into small cubes)

- 3 egg yolks

- 2-3 tbsp ice water

- A few drops vanilla essence

- 1 egg (for egg wash)

Method:

- Pre-heat oven at 180 degree celsius.

- In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and flour until combined.

- Add egg yolks and vanilla essence and knead slightly till you achieve a dough.

- Add cold water and knead just a little more. Be careful not to over knead.

- Place in fridge for 15-30 minutes till dough is slightly hardened. However, you can skip this step if you can manage to cut the dough nicely without hardening it.

- Using a cutter, cut out the shape of the tart and place on baking tray before brushing lightly with egg.

- Bake the pastry for about 10mins or till egg wash can be seen.

- Remove from oven and top with balled pineapple. (Note: If pineapple is store-bought instead of self-cooked, add a couple of drops of water to each ball before baking. I used a syringe for this.)

- Return tray to oven and bake till pastry turns slightly golden brown.

- Remove and cool completely before placing in containers.

Baking pineapple tarts takes a lot of trial and error and it's really quite impossible to please everyone (as with most things in life). So long as the general consensus is positive, I think you've made it. 😃

Another item I've baked is the cornflakes cup. This is super easy to make and the whole process took me less than 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

- 45g butter (melted)

- 1 tbsp sugar

- 1 tbsp honey

- 125g cornflakes 

Method: 

- Pre-heat oven at 170 degree celcius.

- Add sugar and honey into melted butter till sugar is dissolved.

- Add in cornflakes and mix well.

- Spoon into paper cups and bake for 5 minutes or till slightly brown.

- Remove and cool completely before placing in containers.

If you want to make it look better, top it off with some colored ball or chocolate rice. A sure success with children!